When Did You Know?
by Jean Cooper
Summary: Claire asks Rick a question about their relationship. Cute RickXClaire Fluff! Oneshot.


Hi guys…here is another one-shot for one of the less written pairings…this one is RickXClaire! I go this idea when I was brainstorming for my long in progress fics I keep raving about. Don't worry- they're coming along nicely- they're actually done but I keep finding things to change and or add when I edit them. So anyway- I got this funny idea for a scene and decided that I would add a story to it since I had no place for it in my current works in progress.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

The mid summer heat made the weather in Mineral Town extremely humid...so hot and humid that a certain blue eyed bespectacled man's shoulder length strawberry blonde hair stuck against his neck in a way that made him desperately want to ask Cliff for a hair tie. He also made a mental note to buy some short sleeve shirts to replace his long-sleeved hunter green sweater that he was for some reason stupidly wearing in the heat. He glanced down at his kaki pants and also added the after thought of purchasing some shorts. The humidity from the approaching rain had done nothing to help the young blue denim over-all clad woman next to him. Her golden blonde hair was pulled up in a long frizzy ponytail that was three times the normal size. He smiled as she gathered the pink flowers for Popuri's birthday party from the field near the peak of Mother's Hill.

"That should be enough, Claire," he said and she nodded. He helped her place the flowers in her rucksack and they began to walk toward the lake.

Claire's hand entwined with his larger hand, her soft skin contrasting against the roughness of his larger one. Her grey-blue eyes seemed to glow when she gave a dazzling smile, turning her head quickly to look at the man to her right. The action caused her pony tail to swish over her shoulder and then she asked the question which resulted in the two to stop walking.

"When did you know that you loved me?" It was a simple question, but the answer was far from any form of simplicity.

Rick furrowed his eyebrows together as he seriously pondered the question. He grew frustrated at her expectant stare and released her hand to remove his glasses and clean them as he continued to think. He was aware that she knew that it wouldn't be an easy question to answer when she asked it. She often asked him questions like this one. Questions that she already had an answer to when he asked them back to her. Questions that she knew took him a long time to answer because he wanted to answer them truthfully and correctly. It was times like this that he wished that when the object of his affection spoke- which was rarely- that it wasn't usually to ask him questions like this.

But when he answered this question he would be rewarded by obtaining the knowledge of when his 'girl next door' fell for him.

probably after a blow to the head or something-

He mentally snickered at Karen's explanation of why Claire liked him after she and Rick started dating.

When he fell in love with Claire he wasn't completely positive- but he remembered vividly when he had realized that he had more than friendly feelings for his little sister's newfound best friend. It had very much freaked him out at first since he had on more than one occasion referred to her as his adopted sister and tried- but miserably failed- to protect her from the evils of Kai her first summer in the village.

But it had been the New Year's festival- officially one year since Claire had arrived when he realized it. He couldn't have just looked at her and thought- 'I'm in love with you.' Nope. That was something normal people did and Rick was far from normal. He actually very often 'strayed on the border line of insanity when it came to people he cared about' as Karen had so kindly said after the New Years fiasco in his defense.

But it wasn't his fault, he had argued, that TIM had placed his hands a little to low on her waist, or held her a little to close as they danced. Truth be told Tim had held her a lot to close in Rick's opinion. And to top that off he was taunting Rick, giving him glances that Claire later claimed were worried glances because his face had been growing redder by the second and Tim being a Doctor was wondering if Rick was becoming sick. He had tried to fight the green monster inside of him and was actually scared of the feelings that the dancing couple got to rise out of him as the night went on. The result of his jealous rage had been Tim with a black eye and Rick with a broken nose. Of course Rick couldn't blame Tim for hitting him back, but of the IRONY of having the man who broke you nose be the one to fix it.

It was worth it. Claire had kissed him on the cheek as Popuri ranted about how overprotective and insane Rick had acted and how she was embarrassed to be his sister. After the fuming teenager had left, Claire had blushed and grasped Rick's hand. 'I like you too,' she had whispered. And that was how they came to be 'we'. But Rick was positive that he had had the romantic feelings for Claire before that incident- and he could almost place the event- but it still floated just out of his memory.

He returned his specs and a loud clap of thunder brought him out of his thoughts as the woman next to him jumped behind him and clutched the sleeve of his green sweater.

"Let's get out of this weather," he offered, wrapping his arm comfortably over Claire's shoulders as she nodded in response. She looked up at the continually darkening clouds as they began the descent from Mother's Hill and swore as the sky exploded, drenching them with the downpour of water. She didn't mind the thunder or the rain, but what she was terrified of was…

The bright flash that illuminated the sky was almost immediately followed by the ear-splitting rumble of thunder. She instinctively burst into a run, leaving the comfort of Rick's arms and ignoring his call for her to stay with him.

"Damn it," Rick swore as he attempted to follow Claire's franticly fleeing form, but the heat of summer and the rain had caused his glasses to fog up, becoming utterly useless to help his poor vision. He removed the spectacles again and placed them in his apron pocket. He made out her blurry form ahead of him and burst into a run to pursue her. His memory guided him as he followed her form to the hot spring. She would seek shelter in the mine just as she had that day. He knew that when she her feet came across the slippery gravel by the waterfall she would fall into the Goddess pool. So he quickened his speed and reached out as she hit the gravel, her feet sliding out form beneath her as he grasped her overall strap and momentarily stopped her from being submerged before his own feet slipped from underneath him and the both plummeted into the deep water.

Their heads broke above the rippling surface and he pushed her to the bank and then helped her sopping wet form into the mine where they collapsed together in a panting heap of tangled limbs. Claire shivered as Rick hugged her gently. He suddenly began to chuckle and the deep sound echoed in the mine as well as his chest which Claire rested her head upon.

"What is so funny," she asked with a hint of annoyance.

"This is when I knew," he whispered as his chuckling died down but a large smile stayed on his face. "We were caught in the rain once before and almost the same things happened," he murmured as he pushed her wet hair back from her face.

"I remember," she muttered, looking down embarrassed. Rick forced her face back up and tilted her head towards him.

"That was the first time I thought" he leaned in closer to Claire's blushing face "'I want to kiss her,'" he whispered and closed the distance between them, giving her a deep kiss.

He pulled away and smiled at her dazed expression and pulled her into his lap, leaning against the wall. "What about you," he asked after a long silence with nothing but the echoing of the rain and the occasional rumble of thunder. They were deep in the mine so Claire couldn't see the lightening. His eyes opened wide in surprise as she whispered into his ear.

_Claire stood and watched as Popuri yelled at Rick about how mean he was and let out an exasperated sigh._

"_Tell me about it," Kai grunted and rolled his eyes as Rick ranted about how horrible Kai was and Popuri and Claire should stay away form him. _

_Kai looked Claire over and smirked as he realized Rick was watching him, literally foaming at the mouth. "Well, there isn't any reason why we can't go to the beach together," and he snaked his arm around Claire's waist. _

_Rick suddenly came running after Kai with Claire's hammer. "You stay away from her demon spawn! Go back to where ever it is you disappear to every year after summer!" Kai laughed as he ran from Rick who frantically chased him around the field _

"_Man, Rick is getting crazier every year," Popuri whispered to Claire. "But this is the first time he's ever done this. Gee- whiz Claire- he must like you more than me. Even I have never gotten Rick to literally try to harm someone." Claire blushed at the though of Rick liking her enough to…be insanely jealous._

"_Stay away from my woman!" Rick growled- though he never remembered it nor did he even realize he had said it. But Claire felt her heart fill with joy and she ran after Rick, Jumping on his back and knocking him down._

"_Run away Kai! Run far away," she giggled as Kai and Popuri ran off hand in hand while an exhausted chicken farmer lay sprawled out beneath Claire._

"That…well...I" Rick stammered as he began to blush. Claire giggled and hugged him around his neck. He slowly returned her tight embrace and smiled down at his wife of two years.

"Rick," she murmured sleepily in his ear.

"Hmmm…" he replied as he stood. He picked her up and began to exit the mine and go home while the rain had decided to stop.

"Where going to have a baby this winter," she whispered and Rick froze. He looked down at her smiling face and after a few moments of surprise he laughed as he gave her a beaming smile.

That was where he was we he knew he loved her even more than he had ever before.

Fin.

Whoo! I now it's not great but it's Rick and Claire and its here! Hope you Rick fans enjoyed. Read and Review.


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